Encouraging Creativity with Children
Make a rocket out of cardboard boxes
What parent doesn’t want their children to be successful? My kids are going to be the best (fill-in-the-blank-here) and I’m going to ensure it by feeding their creativity. Creativity you say? What about their IQ? Well, according to a recent Newsweek article, the correlation to lifetime creative accomplishment is more than three times stronger for childhood creativity than childhood IQ. Unfortunately, American creativity scores are dropping so it’s important now more than ever to nurture our children’s creativity.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that you can throw those textbooks out the window. We all know that IQ is still very important. But it’s critical to keep our children thinking creatively. By exposing our children to many experiences and taking a step back, we encourage their little minds to come up with some very interesting ideas.
1. Art supplies – the traditional art supplies are great (crayons, chalk, scissors, glitter, paint, etc.) but don’t discount unusual items that they can use to create their masterpiece like old magazines, yarn, buttons, pipe cleaners, fabric scraps, egg cartons, paper towel rolls, and more. When your child finishes their artwork, resist the temptation to talk about what you think it is. Ask them to tell you about it.
2. Music – there is plenty of fun kids’ music at your local library that you can borrow or download some great music on iTunes. Have your kids make up new lyrics to a favorite song. Make your own music with toy instruments or even real instruments from a second hand shop or from Craigslist. Take them to a free outdoor concert or simply crank up the radio.
3. What If - ask your child “What if” questions to see what they think about things like ”What if the dog could talk? What would she say?” or “What do you think it would be like if we lived on a boat?” Continue asking open-ended questions to expand their ideas.
4. Books – reading to your children (or having them read to you) is always good. You can take it a step further by asking them how they would change the ending to a book. Or even have them make a book of their own.
5. Photography – if you have an old camera that you no longer use, put it in the hands of your kids and see the world through their eyes. Digital cameras work best since you don’t have the expense of developing full rolls of film. Go through the pictures and have your child pick out their favorites and start a photo collage or photo album.
6. Drama – is your little one a drama queen? See if there is a local theater club for kids in your neighborhood and help her build her acting talent and her self confidence. No drama clubs available? Get the kids together and host a neighborhood play of their own. You can free kids scripts online from Whootie Owl or Kidsinco. Better yet – have the kids write their own script.
7. Pretend Play – never miss an opportunity to head to the “Land of Make Believe”. That refrigerator box could be turned into a rocket ship or a fairy castle. Those old hats and scarves that you were going to donate to Goodwill could be saved in a trunk and used for dress up games.
There are so many things that we can do as parents to set the stage for our kids’ creative young minds. Share your ideas! What are you doing to nurture the creativity within your child?
Enjoy!
Tara
KidZui Mom
Top 10 Roadtrip Boredom Busters for Kids & Parents
Snap digital pictures on a photo scavenger hunt.
Road trips can memorable and fun for everyone if you are prepared with some games to keep boredom at bay. Keep your kids entertained (and yourself awake) when you hit the road with these top ten ideas.
Photo Scavenger Hunt
Do you have an older digital camera that you no longer use? Put it in the hands of your little ones along with a scavenger hunt list and have them shoot away.
Car Bingo
Print up some car bingo cards from our friends at MomsMinivan.com.
Classic Favorites
Use a whiteboard marker to play tic-tac-toe or hangman on the window in the backseat. Just erase with a soft cloth to start a new game.
Unleash their Creativity
Pack a shoebox or clear plastic bin with washable markers, colored pencils, small activity books, and unlined notepads. Have your kids draw the cows on the side of the road or the mountains they see in the distance.
Alphabet Game
Have the kids find each letter of the alphabet on a road sign, license plate, or vehicle. Once a player calls a letter, no one else can use that item. For example, if someone spots the letter “O” on the a stop sign, the next person can’t use the “P” on that same sign.
Map It
Before you head out, have your child help you print your roadtrip map on a site like GoogleMaps or MapQuest. Have them highlight the map as you hit each major milestone so they can tell YOU if you’re “there yet”.
Alphabet Picnic
Each person takes a turn and says what they are going to bring to “the picnic”. For example, the first person says “I’m going to a picnic and I’m bringing an apple.” The next person says, “I’m going to a picnic and I’m bringing and apple and a burger.” Each person takes their turn, repeating the entire list until you get through the alphabet.
Audio Books
Visit your local library and checkout some audio book CDs that everyone can listen to in the car. Short on time? Download audio books from iTunes or audible.com instantly. Checkout this list of great audio books for your roadtrip.
Group Storytelling
Someone starts a story with a few sentences and then points to someone else to continue the story. For an added challenge, give everyone a time limit (like 20 seconds) to keep the pace moving. The crazier the better.
Name That Tune
Give each person their very own Kazoo and have them “play” a song for the rest of the car to guess.
Are you heading on a roadtrip this summer with your family? Share your ideas and let me know what you plan to do with your kids to have a blast.
Enjoy!
Tara
KidZui Mom
10 Ways to Encourage Your Kids to Read this Summer
Keep kids reading this summer
Growing up, my family didn’t have much money (okay, we were flat broke) but my parents ALWAYS made books a priority. The weekly trips to our library brought as much excitement for my brothers and I as a day at the zoo or beach.
But not all kids are thrilled about reading and now that Summer is upon us it’s critical that we keep our children reading. In fact, Education Secretary Arne Duncan says the “summer slide”, which is the decline in academic skills experienced by many children over the summer, can set kids’ reading skills back by up to three months when they return in the Fall.
Not sure what to do? Here are ten fun ideas that you can use to get (or keep) your kids excited about reading this summer (and hopefully throughout their lives).
1. What are they interested in? My son LOVES dinosaurs and it’s no coincidence that his bookshelf includes Danny and the Dinosaur, Dinosaurs Love Underpants, Dinosaur Vs. Bedtime, and many, many more. My teenage daughter is rather eclectic so her room is full of Shakespeare, Surf magazines, and Nicholas Sparks. Find books, magazines, or even comics that feature what your kids are into and keep them coming.
2. Lead by example. If my kids see me turn off the TV and pickup a book, they are more likely to do the same.
3. Make the library an adventure! The library really is a wonderful place to explore. You never know what you will bring home! And best of all, it’s FREE. Plus the majority of libraries have age-specific story hours. Find your closest public library and check it out! (No pun intended.)
4. Read to your child. My husband and I started reading to our son every night as part of his bedtime routine when he was only one month old. Admittedly, we felt rather silly at the time but we looked forward to it and our little guy definitely loves his books now (two and half years later). You can also read to your older kids, especially those who are discouraged by their own reading skills.
5. Ease the pressure. Is your child struggling with reading? Have them read to a dog. Yes, that’s right, a dog. Intermountain Therapy Animals have found that kids are inclined to forget about their reading limitations if they read to a less-intimidating dog than to parents, friends, or teachers. So if your child is struggling, have them sit down and read to Fido on a regular basis.
6. Make reading a game. Not all reading is done in books or magazines. What about spotting signs when driving to the beach or community pool? Or asking them to help you find a specific item on a menu when at a restaurant?
7. Go to the theatre. So many plays and movies have been based on children’s books. How the Grinch Stole Christmas is a very popular holiday play here in San Diego. Some great family movies that were based on books are Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and of course the beloved Harry Potter series. Read the books with your child before seeing the play or movie and then talk about it afterwards. Which was better? How were they different? Were the characters what you expected?
8. Get online. Yes, I said it! Kids are on the Internet a LOT and this is a wonderful opportunity to expand their reading. There are many kids online games that are geared for reading.
9. Research your next family vacation destination. Are you going on a roadtrip this summer? Let your kids help plan your vacation by flipping through travel books or searching for fun roadside stops along the way.
10. Spice it up! Cooking is a great way for kids to practice reading and comprehension. Have them flip through a cookbook and let them pick out a few recipes to make together this summer. It’s amazing how this has helped my teenage daughter with her reading comprehension skills. Her idea of baking cookies was to open a package of cookie dough. Once I had her bake cookies from scratch, she was hooked. It took a few trial and errors but once she learned to actually READ the recipe her cookies were wonderful.
I hope you have found some inspiration in these ideas and I would love to hear about your success stories! How have you instilled a love of reading with your children?
Enjoy!
Tara
KidZui Mom
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